[Exclusive] 'Red Days' Return... Substitute Holiday Expansion Bill Expected to Pass in June National Assembly

Public Safety Committee, Ruling Parties United on June National Assembly Approval: "No Reason to Oppose"
"Not a Controversial Bill, So June National Assembly Passage Should Be Smooth"

[Image source=Getty Images]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] There are a total of four public holidays in the second half of this year that will be lost because they fall on weekends. Gwangbokjeol (Liberation Day), Gaecheonjeol (National Foundation Day), Hangeul Day, and Christmas all fall on Saturdays or Sundays. Memorial Day on June 6 also coincides with a Sunday. There is good news for office workers who were disappointed when they saw this New Year's calendar at the end of last year. The political sphere is competitively proposing bills to expand substitute holidays, and the likelihood of their passage is very high. The primary purpose is to stimulate domestic consumption.

The National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee plans to pass a bill expanding substitute holidays during the June session. Currently, substitute holidays are granted only when three types of holidays?Seollal (Lunar New Year), Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), and Children's Day?fall on a holiday, but this scope will be expanded. The proposals by Assemblymen Min Hyung-bae and Kang Byung-won include these changes.

Besides this approach, the committee is also considering bills to designate additional public holidays. These include Parents' Day on May 8 (Assemblyman Jeong Cheong-rae), Arbor Day on April 5 and Patriots and Veterans Day on November 17 (Assemblyman Kim Seong-won), and Senior Citizens' Day (Assemblyman Ha Young-je).

Park Wan-soo, the opposition party secretary of the Public Administration and Security Committee, said, "We will review the related bills to create the best possible alternative." He added, "There are no contentious issues, so there should be no difficulty in reaching bipartisan agreement. If the bills are reviewed in the first subcommittee, it is expected that they will pass through the standing committee and be approved in the June National Assembly session without problems."

If all the proposed measures are accepted, up to four additional public holidays will be added. The current 15 statutory holidays (Samiljeol [March 1st Movement Day], Gwangbokjeol, Gaecheonjeol, Hangeul Day, January 1st, Seollal and Chuseok holidays [3 days each], Buddha's Birthday, Children's Day, Memorial Day, and Christmas) will increase to 19 days. Looking at this year's calendar alone, two additional holidays will be added in the second half of the year, and including substitute holidays, people will be able to take up to six more days off than now.

Seo Young-kyo, chairperson of the Public Administration and Security Committee, also said in a phone interview, "There is no reason to oppose this," and added, "I will make efforts to have it processed in the June National Assembly session."